The Leading Remarkable Learning Conference

The
Leading Remarkable Learning Conference was held in Auckland and Christchurch.
OneSchool’s Westmount Regional Principals Phil
Muir, Jon Bowen and Hugo Vaughan give their feedback on the event.

More than 200 teachers from Australia and New
Zealand attended the Leading Remarkable Learning Conference in Auckland and
Christchurch, including members of OneSchool Australia’s faculties.

The conference came about after OneSchool’s
New Zealand-based Westmount School was approached Rapid Relief Team (RRT)
director Daniel Steele. Daniel, who lives in the Auckland suburb of Papakura,
wanted to do something to help staff and students facing challenges in schools that
are struggling due to economic and social issues within the community.

The aim was to redefine and refresh views of education, and to inspire the
education community for the future. The conference featured New Zealand and
international experts in education leadership and innovation.

Guest speaker Sugata Mitra is a professor whose research has led to the
creation of a global network of Self Organised Learning Environments (SOLEs)
and a ‘School in the Cloud’, talked about how technology enables us to think
and learn in a more meaningful way.

His
common sense approach and thought-provoking insights into what motivates
learners to be self-directed was inspirational. He told delegates of his
recommendations around using devices in group activities and how best to ask big
questions to unlock rich learning, great thinking and problem solving.

Then
there was Mark Osborne, who is an expert in leading change management, with a
special focus on learning environments. He spoke of the reasons why schools
needed to be growing learners in modern learning environments, and using the
learning styles that accompany these physical spaces.

Mark
reminded us of the forecast for the job market and how so many current jobs
would be phased out with technology over the next few years. He also stressed the
importance of future-proofing our students moving into the next phase of the
world of work.

Frances
Valintine, an educational futurist, outlined the pressures both on the
education system, and the future of jobs. One impact of changing technology was
on traditional tertiary institutions, which were being challenged by online
learning forums that gave learners the skills and knowledge they needed quickly
and cost-effectively and are often free. This meant they would no longer need
to take the risk of incurring huge debt, potentially for jobs that would not
exist by the time they graduated.

European
OneSchool Regional Principal, Gordon Poad, explored the importance of teachers
leading with their hearts, as well as the thought of “grab an opportunity, have
a go and see what the impact is”. Gordon
also stressed the importance of giving teachers time to collaborate.

Finally,
we were treated to the services of a genuine knight of the realm – Sir John
Jones. Sir John took us all on an emotional rollercoaster with stories and
lessons from his life in education. Sir John reminded us about why we teach –
and why it is an honourable and important profession. He offered simple but
sound advice around selecting and developing staff, managing students, and
creating schools as positive, caring, vibrant centres of communities.